A New Boat for Your Next Dive Holiday in Myanmar: Meet the MV Smiling Seahorse
I guess the big news is the launch of our new boat!
A warm welcome to the MV Smiling Seahorse
After months of hard work, the MV Smiling Seahorse was getting ready to welcome her first divers. Our brand-new steel liveaboard was still at the shipyard as we put the finishing touches to everything on board, but we couldn’t wait to show her to you.
As planned, she would head out on her first cruise at the end of October. We were so excited!!!
There were still plenty of details keeping us busy before the season started: five-star hotel cotton bedding and nice curtains were being stitched, photographs were being printed to decorate the dedicated photographer’s room, and all the air-conditioning units were being thoroughly tested.
So, let me introduce you to the MV Smiling Seahorse: 25 metres long, 6.4 metres wide and spread over four decks, with a lot of space for only 16 divers!
Roof-top deck: the giant sundeck
Let’s take a tour, one deck at a time…
Right at the top, you’ll find the giant sundeck, including a large shaded area where hammocks and sunbeds would soon be installed. It was already shaping up to be the perfect place to relax between dives, enjoy the sea views or simply find a quiet spot for a well-deserved nap.
Upper deck: dining, relaxing and guest cabins
The upper deck hosts the dining area as well as the Standard Cabins for guests and dive guides.
In the saloon, you’ll find a large sofa area at the back which would soon be covered with plenty of cushions to make it the spot for a lovely nap!
There are four large tables where you can enjoy your meals, play cards or study your dive courses, together with a bar on each side and a large buffet. And, as you can see, there is still plenty of room to dance or play some box games…
Flexible Standard and Superior Cabins
Here is a look at one of the Superior Cabins.
We had thought about a smart bedding system so the cabins could be set up either as a double bed for couples, with a large shelf above for luggage, or as two bunk beds.
When arranged as bunk beds, there is plenty of floor space for bags and personal belongings. And because we know you like space, there are also two large shelves for your things.
Main deck: Deluxe and Master Cabins
The Deluxe Cabins on the main deck are identical to the Standard Cabins but have the added comfort of an ensuite bathroom.
And then there are the Master Cabins at the front of the boat. They have a double bed, an ensuite bathroom and a giant panoramic window looking forward.
Sorry, I didn’t have pictures of the finished cabin just yet, but here are the windows!
A dedicated space for underwater photographers
The main deck is also where you’ll find our infamous chef in the kitchen, below and to the right of the stairs, next to the dedicated photo room on the left.
Our dear photographers will find plenty of charging sockets, a large rinsing tank just for them and their toys, a large desk to work on their equipment, and individual storage baskets for all their photo gear.
We knew that underwater photographers need a practical place to look after their cameras, strobes and other equipment between dives, so this dedicated room was one of our favourite features of the new boat.
A dive deck built around diving
It’s also from the back of the main deck that we’ll go diving!!!
Here is the latest photo of our dive deck. The rack in the middle will accommodate plenty of oxygen for Nitrox blending and emergency management.
We had just installed the two Bauer Mariner compressors in the engine room and were setting up the filling system.
We would also have a platform and a davit for our brand-new, larger dinghy, together with some fins-friendly ladders to make getting back on board after a dive easier.
Lower deck: crew quarters and technical systems
The lower deck is the kingdom of our super crew, with large and comfortable quarters at the front and a modern engine room at the back.
We would carry up to 16,000 litres of fresh water and 6,000 litres of fuel. Two generators would provide enough power to run all the air-conditioning units, hot water showers and two compressors at the same time.
Wow!
Looking back at a fantastic manta season
While we were getting the new boat ready, we also had plenty to celebrate from the previous season.
Season 2017/2018 was a season of mantas!!!
We had so many manta rays at Black Rock that it was incredible. Out of all the times we went to Black Rock, mantas were missing only twice. Quite an incredible year!!!
We had also started uploading our photographs to the Marine Megafauna Foundation database, and at the time Myanmar had 191 individual manta rays referenced.
According to the foundation’s representatives, despite having far fewer boats and divers, Myanmar had recorded many more referenced sightings that year than Thailand. It was an exciting contribution to our understanding of the manta population visiting the Mergui Archipelago.
If you have any manta photographs to share for the database, please forward them to us with the date and place of the sighting. We’ll make sure to add them to the database.
And while mantas were everywhere, we also had a few whale-shark-lucky dives 🙂
Encounters with large marine animals like manta rays and whale sharks are among the unforgettable moments that make diving in Myanmar so special.
Thank you for another TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence
And there was more good news: thanks to you, we received the TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence again!
Thank you to everyone who had joined us, dived with us, shared photographs and stories, and helped make the season so memorable.
Ready for your next dive holiday?
The MV Smiling Seahorse was built to give divers more space, comfortable accommodation and a practical setup for long days spent exploring the underwater world. From the large dive deck and dedicated photography room to the spacious sundeck and flexible cabins, every deck had been designed with life aboard a dive liveaboard in mind.
Today, you can explore our current liveaboard schedules and itineraries and discover upcoming Myanmar diving adventures aboard the MV Smiling Seahorse.
